


Come Along, Swan.

by foundmyhome



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Doctor Who, Captain Swan Secret Valentine, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:51:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3383996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foundmyhome/pseuds/foundmyhome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m the Captain.”  His fingers slid through hers again.  Tugging her towards the building, he offered her a brilliantly wide smile.  “Come along, Swan.”</p><p>A Doctor Who AU.  The one where Killian is the Captain, Emma is his companion, he wants to take her to a world made of hot chocolate, but heartache is surprisingly common when you travel the universe.  When Emma is faced with picking between her family and the Captain, will she make the right choice?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Along, Swan.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goodluckgettingtosleep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodluckgettingtosleep/gifts).



> Hello! This is my 2015 cssv gift for the always lovely Kate! Kate, who loves the Doctor/Rose and Killian/Emma, I hope you enjoy this dw/ouat mashup I did! Happy Valentines Day!

Emma Swan had done a lot of crazy things as a Bail Bonds Person. She had pretended to date wanna-be jerks, travelled to the Canadian border, joined a circus for one fleeting weekend- but this guy: well, Emma was pretty goddamn sure he was going to take the cake for crazy.

“I need your help. There are aliens- well, not really, you’re the aliens, technically. See, they’ve been here longest. But you’d see them as aliens, because, well, frankly, humans are fairly singleminded. Anyway, they’re hungry and if we don’t stop them, they’re going to destroy the world to feed off its burning energy.”

He was a ridiculously attractive man. That was the first thing Emma had noticed about him. And, really, it was disappointing to find out that all of his good qualities seemed to be laying on his face. He looked down at her, his eyes wide and his mouth tilted in a smile. Even with a hook for a hand, makeup on his face, and weird, leathery pirate clothes heavily layered on, he was a really pretty sight.

Emma sighed. “You have got to be kidding me.” The man grinned. It was lopsided and, unfortunately, it took Emma’s breath away.

“No, lass. I’m entirely serious.” He shoved his hand through his hair, pushing it out of his stupidly sea blue eyes. “There’s an alien in that room planning on killing everyone on this planet.”

Emma was pretty sure he was the hottest crazy man she’d ever met. Raising an eyebrow, she smiled. “Because it eats planets?”

The man smiled, pleased. The hook attached to his wrist lifted to her face, shifting her hair out of her face. “Precisely.”

“You’re a complete lunatic,” she tried to offer the words gently, but, really, how gently could you break lunacy to a lunatic? She placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him towards her bug. “I need you to come with me now.”

He shrugged out of her grasp, his lips falling into a frown. “I’m telling the truth and I’m not going anywhere except in that room.”

“Look, guy, this bails bonds thing works so I only get my money if-”

“Money isn’t important.” He thread his fingers through hers and Emma pretended not to be worried that she didn’t want to pull away. She did anyway. “This is.”

“If I help you, then will you come with me?”

The man stepped back, pausing. His brows creased together, before his lips pulled into that smile again. “Yes.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Emma would take what she could get. “Great. I’m Emma Swan.” She held out her palm for him to shake.

“I’m the Captain.” His fingers slid through hers again. Tugging her towards the building, he offered her a brilliantly wide smile. “Come along, Swan.”

 

\--

“It’s bigger on the inside.”

Emma was just stating the obvious now. She didn’t know what else to say. The crazy lunatic turned out to not be such a lunatic after all. There were aliens, and a screwdriver, and some really disgusting mush that was actually the aliens true forms, and there was screaming, and now there was stating the obvious.

Emma really wished she could think of something else to say.

The Captain leaned against the console, his legs crossed, arms folded across his chest. He was a sight. And now that Emma knew he wasn’t completely mad, it was a most welcome sight.

She cleared her throat, looking around. He smiled.

“You could come with me, you know.” The offer was given quietly. His eyebrow was high in his forehead, his lips parted with anticipation. Emma’s heart fluttered.

“Is it always this dangerous?” She climbed up the stairs, her hands running across the railing. It seemed to warm under her touch, seemed to welcome her.

The Captain frowned. “Yes. Usually more.”

Emma was a cautious woman. Growing up the way she did, she had to be. And running off with a strange man who had all the power in the relationship was probably number one on her list of no-nos. “Could something bad happen to me?”

He licked his lips. “Yes.”

Emma nodded. She preoccupied herself walking around the console, slowly, her fingertips touching the various knobs and levers, familiarizing herself with the technology. She stopped when she got to the other side of the Captain, leaning next to him so their shoulders nudged.

“Captain?” He looked down at her and for all the worlds she would swear he was looking at the sky. “Absolutely.”

When she saw his smile, she was pretty sure she was looking at the sky, too.

“Where to, Swan?”

“Surprise me, Captain.”

\--

“I will never forget you, Emma Swan.”

Emma felt like sobbing.

Snow White’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close to her chest. Emma buried her face in Snow’s thick black hair, her arms circling around the woman’s waist in a tight embrace. Prince Charming, standing only a little off to the side, had one arm around his wife and the other around Emma, his hand coming behind her to cup the back of her head.

Emma had never had parents, but she was pretty damn sure this is what it felt like.

Snow pulled away, wiping away one of Emma’s tears with her thumb. Charming dropped a kiss to her forehead.

“It’ll be alright, sweetheart,” Charming promised, smiling at the woman. “You’ll find your home, just as I have with Snow.”

The Captain’s hand bumped against hers and Emma quickly wound her fingers through his. “Okay. Thank you.”

Snow cupped her cheek another time, tilting her head and smiling. “No, Emma. Thank you.”

Then the couple pulled away and began their walk through the forest. The Captain tugged her, softly, towards the TARDIS. “Come along, Swan,” he murmured, soothingly.

Emma pretended to be stronger than she was and not to cry. The tears fell anyway.

When the duo had arrived in the Enchanted Forest, the Captain had promised a day of horse back riding and magic and fun. But when the Evil Queen Regina had kidnapped them and tricked them into helping her hunt Snow White and her prince, their fun vacation had been destroyed.

Luckily, Snow and Charming had been able to convince Emma and the Captain of the truth: that Regina was the real threat and that Snow just wanted her kingdom back. With all of them working together, they captured the Evil Queen quickly and disposed of her in a magic cell created for the darkest wizard, Rumplestiltskin.

Emma didn’t know why she connected so fiercely with the two fairytale royals. But she knew, as soon as she saw them, that they had a piece of her heart. And now, climbing onto the TARDIS with the Captain, she knew she was leaving it behind.

“Captain?” Charming’s voice called from behind them. Emma spun around quickly. The Captain placed her hand on the TARDIS door before walking closer to where the Prince stood.

“Your Majesty,” the Captain smirked, bowing. Charming laughed.

Clapping an arm on his back, he handed him a sword. “I’d like Emma to have this.” He was frowning as he spoke, as if, he, too, couldn’t quite understand the bond. “And I’d like to ask you to take care of her.” His voice dipped lower, so Emma couldn’t overhear.

“You love her?”

The Captain glanced back at Emma. She was leaning against the blue door, her blonde curls sprawled around her face and shoulders. Her eyes were closed and her small pink lips were stretched into a pretty smile.

“Aye. I’d go to the end of the world for her. Or time.”

Charming smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” The Prince jogged off to meet Snow, while the Captain returned to his own princess.

“What was that about?” She asked, glancing up at him.

He offered her the sword. “Charming wanted me to give this to you.”

Emma smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder. “We should go get cocoa.”

“Cocoa? I believe I’m unfamiliar with that.”

“Hot chocolate? It’s the best. It’s better with whipped cream and cinnamon and-”

\--

“You’re kidding me!” Emma couldn’t remember a time she was so excited. Her smile hurt her cheeks and she was actually getting a little dizzy from the way she was vibrating with anticipation. “There is a whole world that smells like cinnamon and has rivers of-”

“That disgustingly warm melted chocolate?” The Captain tucked a piece of hair behind Emma’s ear, dropping down to plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Absolutely.”

Emma blushed. Things like that- like the kiss- had been happening more and more frequently lately. She wasn’t blind, of course. She saw the way the Captain looked at her. It was the way she had always wanted to be looked at. His expression was always tender, always hopeful. She wasn’t oblivious enough to pretend like she didn’t look at him the same way, too.

“Can we go?” She didn’t bother waiting for an answer. The Captain didn’t bother responding, just grinned and started pulling levers and swirling around the console. Emma grabbed her favorite leather jacket from the railing, sliding her arms through it and tossing the Captain his own leather coat.

Emma had been traveling with the Captain for what seemed like years. She knew it couldn’t have been that long, but the way she felt around him- like she was safe, like she was cared for, like she was home- didn’t feel like a new acquaintance. She had a foster sister, once, who believed in reincarnation. She always told Emma that she must’ve been a terrible person in her last life, to have made her so miserable now. But Emma didn’t buy it then and she doesn’t buy it now. If past lives were true, then Emma was sure she knew him then. She was sure she loved him then.

His blue eyes caught hers, winking once before running his tongue across his bottom lips. “Sails ahoy, Swan,” he grinned, slamming the last lever in place.

\--

Like most things with the Captain, things had gone wrong. Her cocoa world turned to Storybrooke, Maine in a different timeline. A timeline where the baby she’d carried in her belly during jail hadn’t miscarried; a timeline where her parents were fairytale characters that loved her; a timeline where she was finally surrounded by her family and love.

But the window was closing and the world would implode and the Captain had to shut it and she’d never see them again, never hold her tiny son’s hand again, never see her mother smile, never-

“Unless you stay here.”

The Captain’s face was paler than she’d ever seen it. He watched her with tears filling his eyes and his mouth shut in a hard line. Emma’s chest felt like it was caving in.

“We can do that?” Her father’s arm circled around her waist, his lips pressing on the top of her head. Henry’s smile was beaming brighter than the sun in the sky.

The Captain smiled and the hope that had been welling in her heart crashed. “No. But you can.”

Emma understood then, with perfect clarity, what he was offering her.

He loved her. She knew that he loved her and in that moment, suddenly, she realized she loved him, too. And it wasn’t because of what he was offering, wasn’t what he was willing to give up- she was sure she had been in love with him for forever, but standing in front of him, one hand reaching out to cup his face, she realized that this comfort in her heart and her life was what true love felt like.

“I could never see you again,” she stepped closer, one hand feeling the stubble on his face, the other fisting around the leather of his jacket.

His jaw twitched and he swallowed harshly. “Aye.”

Henry pulled at her coat. “It’s okay, Mom. You can go with him.”

Emma let out a sob. Her son- her son, alive and here- was more beautiful than she had ever dreamed.

The Captain’s arms wrapped around her and he placed his cheek next to hers. Quietly, he murmured, “Swan, you know you have to stay.”

The world was crashing around them and her family was crying and the Captain had to leave now or there wouldn’t be any universe left-

and damn her if Emma wasn’t the tearful goodbye kiss kind of girl, but maybe just this once-

Her lips pressed against his, hard, her fingers sliding through his dark hair. His lips worked quickly against hers, his mouth as desperate as hers. When she pulled away, she could fear tears against her skin, but she wasn’t sure who they belonged to.

She reached for him but the sky was darkening and the Captain nodded to someone behind her. Before she could figure out why, her father grabbed her tightly and held her harshly against his chest. She had waited her whole life to be held by her father but right now, with the Captain running towards the TARDIS and thick tears blurring her vision she fought with every bit in her.

But her father was fighting, too, and really what would Emma have done even if she got free? Leave him? Leave Henry?

The TARDIS blinked out of sight, the sky blossomed back to soft blue, and Emma cried for a week.

\--

Life was beginning to be normal again. She fought with Regina, played scrabble with her parents, walked Henry to school; she even got a job at the local sheriff station, which she wasn’t sure she was qualified for, but the whole town seemed to consider it okay.

It was weird, hearing Henry call her mom or watch Snow- who sometimes went by Mary Margaret, because of a curse she accidentally broke during her stay here with the Captain- stare at her fondly. It was everything she ever wanted and usually she was pretty happy.

But other times, usually late at night, she wasn’t.

She knew that this was the right decision. Between the Captain and her son, she would always choose Henry; between anything and Henry, she’d choose him. But making the decision and understanding it didn’t make anything less painful. After seeing her parents move fluidly around each other, smiling softly before the other one even tells their joke, making breakfast like it’s an intricate, important affair- now more than ever, she was sure that the Captain was her true love.

So, nights were hard. The Captain had gotten in the habit of bringing them hot drinks in the TARDIS during nights that weren’t filled with adventures, letting her catch up on her favorite shows seasons in advance. She missed that. She missed her old bedroom in the TARDIS, missed being on season seventeen of Grey’s Anatomy- mostly, though, she missed him.

\--

 

Months passed. The snow in Maine fell heavily and Emma was surprised by how happy it made her. Cinnamon hot chocolate in her parents’ loft, snow fights with Henry, learning to sword fight with her father, hearing stories of her would-be childhood from her mother.

Emma had anticipated her happiness bringing relief from being separated from the Captain; if anything, each day that passed hurt worse.

“Here,” her father sat down on the couch next to her, handing her a mug. She sniffed and laughed.

“Rum?” She raised an eyebrow at Charming. He shrugged.

“I keep thinking if Snow gives you any more hot chocolate you’ll turn into a bar of it.”

Emma grinned. “It’s nice.” She lifted the mug to her lips, taking a long swallow. “But this is too.”

They sat in silence and Emma pretended to feel like everything was okay.

\--

“What the hell happened?”

The words were harsh. Emma didn’t mean to sound so angry. She was positive she’d never felt less angry in her whole life.

“Not happy to see me, Swan?” He grinned, her tone not slowing his stride towards her. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

When his lips touched her forehead, she felt a shock run through her body. Her heart, which had felt heavy in her chest for months, beat harshly.

“Settle down, there, Swan,” he pulled back and swiped his thumb across her cheek. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.

She had a thousand questions and hundreds of things to say to him. But none of them mattered right now. None of them were important.

Her lips pressed against the Captain’s, and all the months of worrying and fear and regret rushed out of her. His hand held the back of her head, his hook slipping into the loop of her jeans to pull her closer. His mouth was soft, his lips gentle against hers. His fingers slid into her hair, his lips moving down to her jaw.

Emma gasped, her own fingers flexing and grasping at him; she grabbed fistfuls of his jacket, pulling him closer.

“Emma,” he murmured her name, his kisses decorating her neck. They grew softer and softer, his arms growing tighter, until their bodies were held tightly again each other in a hug.

“I missed you so much, Captain.” She pulled away, staring up at him. He looked rugged, his hair tousled and his eyes bloodshot; his eyeliner was missing and his face looked startling innocent without it.

“I missed you, too, love,” he smiled. “But you probably shouldn’t call me that anymore.”

“Captain?”

“Aye. Try Killian. It was my name, before.” He thread his fingers between hers, his smile nearly as wide as the day she met him. Her heart stuttered before her mind could catch up.

“Killian,” she tasted the word, smiling. “But why not Captain?”

“Can’t be a captain if you don’t have a ship, lass.” He gestured behind him, and for the first time, Emma noticed that the TARDIS was nowhere in site.

Emma felt the world pause; the air grew thick and her voice caught in her throat. Swallowing hard, she took a step back to see him more fully. “How did you find me?”

He shrugged, leaning against the table. Emma sat in the chair, thankful that despite the party going on inside, Granny’s outside seating was abandoned beside the two of them. “Cap- Killian?”

He sighed, settling into the chair across from her. He looked away, his jaw flexing. “I used a magic bean.”

Emma frowned. She didn’t know nearly as much as he did, but she did know that magic beans are hard to come by. She told him as much.

“Not when you have something to trade for it, love,” his hand was on the table and Emma grabbed it without thinking.

“And what did you trade?”

He glanced at her, his cheeks tinging red. “Why, the TARDIS, of course.”

For the second time that evening, Emma felt her whole world shift. “Killian-- you traded your ship for me?”

His expression softened, his eyes flickering back and forth between hers. “Aye.”

She hadn’t said that she loved him and he hadn’t told her either. But in that moment, with his eyes lingering on hers, with the truth sitting heavy between them, and her heart beating loudly in chest, she was pretty sure the words were just a formality. Because love was something deeper than words or promises; she knew that- god, did she know that. Love was something harsh and something that was rarely pretty; it was painful decisions and weeks of yearning and actions that can’t be taken back. It was sacrifice. It was truth, devotion, adoration, respect. Love was something wild and intangible and so immense that it could barely be described.

Love was staring straight at her, sitting across from her in a little town that he had helped her find. Love was Killian, giving away his home just for the chance to see her again. Love was what they had. And love was the word playing on Emma’s tongue when she pulled him in for another kiss.

“Happy Valentines Day, indeed, Ms. Swan,” Mr. Gold laughed, wrapping his arm around Belle’s shoulder. Emma blushed when she pulled away from Killian, ignoring his awestruck expression in favor of greeting the small congregation that had gathered at Granny’s steps.

Her mother was grinning, her father frowning, Henry peaking from between their sides- her whole family, her whole heart, was finally here. Killian hadn’t just found her home; he made it.

Pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and threading her fingers between his, Emma stood up, pulling Killian with her.

“I believe you all remember the Captain,” she smiled. Her mother took this as an invitation, rushing forward and throwing her arms around him.

“It’s so lovely to see you again,” Snow smiled, stepping back. “I’m so happy you’re here.”

Killian’s cheeks were tinged pink. “Thank you, milady.”

The party went back inside, casting glances behind their shoulder to see the couple.

Emma wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulders. “Happy Valentines Day, Killian.”

She felt his chuckle, his kiss planted on the top of her head. Her whole body tingled. “Happy Valentines Day, love.”


End file.
